A car seatbelt extender is an accessory designed to make room for obese and large build adults who might have a hard time securing and fastening their car safety belts. Since traditional seatbelts might not always accommodate larger people, seatbelt extenders are intended to add extra length while snugly clipping in between the female and male ends of standard belt setups.
However, the past several years have seen seatbelt extenders becoming the subject of controversy and debate since they are also advertised to make it easier to use booster seats and child car seats. Unfortunately, some extenders failed, thus causing serious injuries or worse, even death.
This article tackles the truth about these seatbelt extenders and whether or not they are safe to use in the first place.
Purpose and Function of a Car Seatbelt Extender
Seatbelts are among the most critical safety accessories in modern vehicles. Although modern cars are already filled to the brim with a long list of safety features, you can count on your seatbelt to stay safely in your seat when untoward incidents happen. But what if using a regular seatbelt is not possible?
Seatbelt extenders are available in different sizes. Just take note, however, that these sizes apply to the length that the standard setup can be extended to. The extenders can be either rigid or flexible in construction.
The original concept behind seatbelt extenders was to make things easier for adults who can’t use traditional seatbelts so they can still enjoy their safety benefits. These extenders have been used in both cars and airplanes for many years.
But during the 2010s, car makers started to produce rear-seat seatbelt buckles that are flushed with the seat. While these are less cumbersome and more stylish for passengers in the backseat, they also brought about challenges in installing child car seats safely.
This also meant that older children in booster seats wouldn’t be able to reach the buckle to learn to fasten and unfasten their seatbelts on their own. A car seatbelt extender is a great solution that secures seats and gives older children the independence to buckle themselves in and out.
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